In our Pining For Pinterest posts, we prepare our readers for the upcoming season with interior shots alongside decor and event details in a fresh, new color story and overall look. We don’t know about you, but we are so excited for the beginning of Fall (and it is truly just around the corner) … spooky scenery, time spent with family, and lots of pie here we come! Please enjoy as we take you through our inspiration for two totally different Fall events in our own distinct styles.

Tami’s Pins: What’s “pin”spiring me this season? Teal tones and a bit of beige! This color story is a bit moody just like the months ahead. The weather is getting chillier, comfort foods are becoming our best friends, and so are chunky knits. This hostess is throwing an over the top brunch just because. It’s the beginning of the holiday season and she’s looking for any excuse to have people over. Al fresco brunch outdoors? Yes, please!

Isn’t her home adorable!?

She’ll give a quick tour before whisking all of her guests outside to enjoy the cool weather.

Paper invitations are still fun for any occasion!

What a gorgeous set up. Love the sheer fabric, leaves, and mismatched china most!

A few floral arrangements are fun too!

Casual attire with those chunky knits I mentioned before are in order.

Don’t forget a stylish Fall colored bag!

It’s brunch … So, say yes to espresso …

… and cake? Why not!?

Lauren’s Pins: What’s “pin”spiring me this season? All the bohemian vibes that keep infesting my feed! This Thanksgiving, take a new, nontraditional spin on the holiday. Use all those trendy bohemian styles you have been seeing all over Pinterest to inspire your dining experience. What a fun way to keep your guests on their toes and stay true to who you are!

Cool, casual, bohemian style is appreciated all year long. Why not in Fall?

Set up a few appetizers before sitting down to your feast. This will get your guests nice and relaxed … Just like you want them!

Bringing the outdoors in is always a good idea.

What a beautiful set up! I must add gold flatware to my collection this Fall!

A cute take-home gift will go a long way.

Keepin’ it casual as usual!

An ode to the season and a glass of white wine will set the tone.

Mix in new tasty sides with traditional favorites.

Mini pies! Ohhhh yeahhhhh!

This Fall is already a busy one, and we are so excited to continue bringing the events “Side” of our business to the next level. We look forward to all that is coming up this season and hopefully using some of this inspiration in our own planning. We would love to work with you in creating the right look this Fall by tying in the inspiration of your event with the essence of your home decor. Contact us at info@sbsdesignla.com for more information.

To see more of our individual styles through our inspiration, follow us on Pinterest at:

It’s the end of the month, and we are extremely grateful for all of the design challenges and experiences that have come our way. Today, we continue to show you some of our favorites … 5 things that truly made us happy in the great big world of design this month. This has proven to be a great way for us to share sneak peeks into projects that are in the works (but not quite ready to show in their entirety), flashbacks of projects from the past, and highlight an interior or event vendor that deserves recognition. Enjoy!

#1: This living room! I have been working on a living room in Santa Monica for a while now, and we’re finally getting closer to the finish line. All of the main pieces have been ordered and a lot have been received. We are still putting the finishing touches on and then we will get to share, but in the meantime here is one of our inspiration photos we used along the way. (Written by: Lauren)

#2: This theme! If you have followed us for a while, you know that we have a Halloween event that we do every year and are extremely proud of. Check out last year’s Greek Mythology theme here. The thing that excites us the most is getting to come up with a brand new concept each year and incorporate it into even the smallest detail. In addition to last year’s theme, so far we have accomplished scary scenery for the following themes: pirates, Hollywood, circus, and cemetery. Now that Halloween is approaching (I mean, all of the store aisles are decked out in Halloween gear after all!), we are ready to share this year’s theme! Does the photo give it away? Wild Wicked Western it will be!

#3: This personal project! Our last post focused on a special project I have been working on at my daughter’s school. I went there yesterday to see the finished product and loved how this front desk turned out so much that I couldn’t wait to share it.The only thing we have left here to do is to figure out what goes in that blank white space. We’d love to hear your thoughts. Comment below! (Written by: Lauren)

#4: This vendor! We have spoken in the past about the custom artwork we have done for various clients with our custom modern gallery framing, but what we haven’t mentioned is that we have a framer we work with who can do any type of framing and is so great at what he does. We are currently working on a framing project for a client that is bound to complete her living room perfectly. Here’s a sneak peek!

#5: This client! I like to think of this client of mine as not a client at all but a family, and more importantly a former student. That’s right in my past life I was a teacher. If you have been reading our blog since the beginning you already knew that, and you also know how important my students were (and are) to me. Things really seem to be coming full circle now as my former students are at the age where they are planning their bar and bat mitzvahs and who did they turn to to help them plan? Me! This particular Bar Mitzvah (that will be coming in a few months to a blog near you) will be a bit dramatic, comfortable, and so much fun just like the boy I am planning it for. Can’t wait! (Written by: Tami)

We plan to share our “Favorite Five” for the month of September on the 29th, and of course will be sharing what’s inspiring us for the month ahead on the first Friday of the month. See ya soon!

It’s been fun to see everyone’s kids going back to school these past few weeks on Facebook. This year, my older daughter will be in Pre-K and my younger two are starting the Mommy and Me program at the same school. Although we still have a week and half until Ava goes back to school, I’ve been there every day for the past week working on a special project. The school is undergoing some exciting renovations, and I have taken it upon myself to oversee the painting portion of this project. I absolutely love the new vision for the school that the principals have put together, and am proud to be an integral part of making this come to life.

Before

April and Alana (our fabulous directors) have taught me that, “New research and knowledge about early childhood has shown that children respond to an atmosphere that is calm and reflects a home, rather than the institutional look of the past.” This makes complete sense to me as a designer and mom. In fact, a calm color scheme has the same effect on me. Between the funds raised last year and that gifted from the synagogue, we had enough to paint our entire school and decided that even though this renovation project would be ongoing (as this would not complete the work needed), we would take it one step at a time while following one design plan that can be completed in various steps. Here are some before pictures so you can see that we have already come a long way:

In Process

As you will see, all of the bright colors on the walls have been removed and replaced with more natural shades. The new colors reflect that of nature allowing the children and their artwork to take center stage. The school has also purchased new wooden chairs and various wooden bookcases and cabinetry to go with our overall look. The final portion of this project was to enclose the hallway leading to the back bathroom. The new glass enclosure was the perfect solution and looks great as well. We are really hoping to raise more money this year in order to replace the flooring throughout. This will make a huge difference as well.

Inspiration

I always like to put together an inspiration board when working on a project. It helps me see everything together and gives me an overall idea for how everything will work in the space. I used this board to come up with all of the paint colors I selected to use throughout the school and to help me tie in the two spaces that we previously designed last year (as seen in our posts, Preschool Library Design and Preschool Resource Room).

Of course, I did not work on this project alone! We could not have done it without the support of the temple board of trustees including the VP of Education Kevin Loew, our fabulous director April Schafer and Assistant Director Alana Levitt, and the head of the construction portion of this project (who is another parent at the school) Robert Shamsi as well as the organizational efforts from my friend Allison Schwartz. Can’t wait for the girls to start school in this renovated space!

Last week, we featured the master bedroom in our Under Construction: Modern With Antiques series. In that post, we mentioned the loft space in that room, and we are so excited to share how that space ties in. You’ve waited long enough! Here’s a sneak peek at the construction thus far and our plans for this part of the room.

Before

We mentioned this before, but there is no way this stair railing would pass code, and there is no way I would let my kids up those stairs with the railing the way it is. This detail has already been removed and plans for its replacement are absolutely stunning!

The loft space will be used as the couple’s personal office, but we still didn’t love the current look. All of these bookcases and even the shutters have been removed and will be replaced with something less heavy and much more elegant.

In Process

You can see that the stairs have been completely brought back to bare bones. All of the awkward curves have been removed, and we get a fresh start.

New recessed lights have been installed, and the room is ready to come to life.

Loft Inspiration

The loft inspiration is pretty straight forward. A place to work that is anything but boring, a gorgeous brass stair railing, an interesting carpet on the stairs (We are picturing a high pile shag in a rich color way), gorgeous wall-to wall bookcases either in black lacquer, glass, or some combination of the two, and a gorgeous desk. It’s so over the top just like my clients like it!

There are so few clients out there that have the guts to design a space with this much character. These particular clients like to think outside the box (literally) and push the boundaries. I absolutely love it! There are still a few spaces to share each with its own personality and character. Please follow along as we continue to work on this dream project! For more information on our design services email us at info@sbsdesignla.com.

By taking one of the looks from our Get Inspired: August boards, we are providing our readers with further information for where to purchase similar items with a range of price points (from super affordable to fancy and one of a kind).

Little mini getaways for Lauren, Scott, and the girls this month has her thinking how calm and relaxing it is to be living the hotel life. She put together this list of items to add to any space to make it feel more like that “home away from home” … aka your favorite resort and spa! With these five interior items and additional five items to make your event feel calm as well, we are certain you will be in a chill mood this August. Enjoy!